Salzkammergut: Lakes, Hallstatt and Imperial Towns

Baroque splendor and a rich musical history adorn Salzburg against a backdrop of steep rock faces. The eleventh-century Festung Hohensalzburg towers above the city, offering visitors a panoramic view of the Altstadt. In the lively Getreidegasse, you'll discover the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Schloss Hellbrunn surprises with seventeenth-century Wasserspiele, where water spouts between the statues in the gardens. From the Mönchsberg, you can overlook the green Mirabellgarten and the domes of the Dom zu Salzburg.

The bright yellow Basilika Sankt Michael rises above the rooftops of Mondsee, marking the historic center. This church was the setting for the wedding in the film The Sound of Music. Directly behind the buildings, the steep Drachenwand rises, where hiking trails lead to panoramic views. The water of the Mondsee reaches temperatures of up to 27 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere along the promenade is lively as sailors glide across the water with views of the Salzkammergut mountains.

The steep walls of the Salzkammergut rise directly from the clear blue water at Wolfgangsee. From Sankt Wolfgang, the historic Schafbergbahn cog railway climbs to the summit at 1783 meters. In Sankt Gilgen, the cable car glides up to the Zwölferhorn for panoramic views of the surrounding mountain peaks. The lively shores near the Hotel Weisses Rössl fill with sailboats in summer, gliding across the water between the forested slopes.

Attersee attracts water sports enthusiasts with turquoise drinking-water-quality water and a depth that gives the lake a Mediterranean colour. At the Gustav Klimt-Zentrum, you can see how the painter spent his summers by the water. The Attersee-Schifffahrt passes stately villas overlooking the water. Divers descend into a clear underwater world along steep walls at Tauchplatz Ofen. While sailboats glide over the waves, hikers find a peaceful spot on the benches along the shore.

Austria's deepest lake is the Traunsee, where the walls of the Traunstein rise steeply from the water. On an island lies the picturesque Schloss Ort, a castle with foundations from the eleventh century. In Gmunden, you can see how artisans create the famous white-green Gmundner Keramik. The historic paddle steamer Gisela still sails across the water along the forested shores. From the quay, you can peacefully gaze out over the deep blue water and the white castle towers.

Stately nineteenth-century architecture adorns the imperial spa town of Bad Ischl. Stroll through the Kaiservilla, the richly decorated summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph I, and explore the paths of the Kaiservilla Park. In the center stands the Trinkhalle, a historic building with columns. Local confectioners serve pastries while the Traun river flows through the town. The scent of fresh pastries hangs in the streets of the atmospheric center.

Obertraun is located on Lake Hallstatt and offers access to the Dachstein massif with the 2108-meter-high Krippenstein. The cable car takes you to the Five Fingers viewing platform and the Rieseneishöhle, a cave with frozen waterfalls and ice sculptures. Hikers traverse the karst plateau or visit the Koppenbrüllerhöhle in the valley. This lakeside location offers an alternative to nearby Hallstatt.

Gosausee reflects the sharp limestone peaks of the Dachstein Glacier in a crystal-clear water surface. A flat hiking trail leads along the Vorderer Gosausee, where benches among the trees offer views of the surrounding mountain peaks. Those who follow the ascending paths will reach the higher Hinterer Gosausee between steep rock faces. The Gosaukammbahn cable car ascends to alpine meadows for panoramas over the rugged Gosaukamm. The serene atmosphere is preserved because cars are absent here, while the sun sets behind the glacier.

The grey limestone peaks of the Dachstein Massif and the green Schladminger Tauern surround Schladming with a landscape full of contrasts. The Planai gondola takes you to an altitude of 1906 metres for a panoramic view over Styria. Those who follow the Wilde Wasser hiking trail pass the Riesachfall, which plunges 140 metres. On the Dachstein Glacier, you stand amidst the ice with views of the mountain peaks. In the centre, a lively atmosphere prevails on the terraces by the square.

Nationalpark Gesäuse in Styria is characterized by the limestone walls of the Ennstaler Alps and the Enns river flowing through deep gorges. You can climb the 2,369-meter-high Hochtor or visit Stift Admont at the western gate, a Benedictine abbey from 1074 with the largest monastic library in the world. Due to minimal light pollution, you can observe a starry sky at night above the forested valleys.

Eisenerz is a mountain town in Styria, known for the Erzberg, Central Europe's largest open-pit mine where iron ore has been extracted for centuries. At the foot of the mountain lies the Leopoldsteiner See, a mountain lake surrounded by the steep limestone cliffs of the Ennstal Alps. You can visit the terraced mine for a guided tour or watch motorcyclists race across the steep terrain during the annual Erzbergrodeo.

Under the Baroque domes of the Stiftsbibliothek in Admont, seventy thousand books fill the largest abbey library in the world. Colourful frescoes adorn the ceilings above the wooden statues in this eighteenth-century hall. In the Museum Stift Admont, you can see historical and contemporary art. Outside the walls, paths of Nationalpark Gesäuse lead through the rugged nature along the Enns river. The serene monastery gardens overlook the sharp peaks of the Ennstaler Alpen.

Baroque splendor and a rich musical history adorn Salzburg against a backdrop of steep rock faces. The eleventh-century Festung Hohensalzburg towers above the city, offering visitors a panoramic view of the Altstadt. In the lively Getreidegasse, you'll discover the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Schloss Hellbrunn surprises with seventeenth-century Wasserspiele, where water spouts between the statues in the gardens. From the Mönchsberg, you can overlook the green Mirabellgarten and the domes of the Dom zu Salzburg.